Two major papers on repurposed drugs for COVID-19 by researchers from Brigham and Women’s Hospital face intense skepticism from the research community, prompting the editorial boards of The New England Journal of Medicine and The Lancet to publish Expressions of Concern on the validity of the underlying data. Such expressions are often the first step toward an outright retraction.

In emergency situations, broad-spectrum antibiotics have their place. But their indiscriminate use has led to a resistance crisis that already kills tens of thousands of people annually in the U.S. alone.

BioWorld looks at translational medicine, including: iPSC microtissue gives clues to heart disease; Tumor types have distinct microbiomes; Kinase helps prepare pre-metastatic niche; EZH2 has dual role; New alcohol risk genes in Caucasians; Assay system identifies mitochondria-targeting drugs for PD; Imitating ticks to evade immunity; Ovarian organoids implicate oviducts.

Variants in the APOE gene are the strongest genetic risk factor for developing Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Now, researchers at Rockefeller University have demonstrated that APOE variants also affected the risk of progression and metastasis as well as the response to immunotherapy, in melanoma.

Variants in the APOE gene are the strongest genetic risk factor for developing Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Now, researchers at Rockefeller University have demonstrated that APOE variants also affected the risk of progression and metastasis as well as the response to immunotherapy, in melanoma.